ARKASH ESH PO-EK, THE RADIANT

Arkesh was having a bad day. A bad week actually. It had kicked off with that upstart of a Human usurping his Title. Arkash was justifiably proud of his title. At least he had been. Now that it was stripped from him, it had caused him no end of bother.

No less than three challenges, in less than a week. It was intolerable. He had dealt with them all with extreme prejudice. Hopefully that would quell any future aspirants for the time being. But he wouldn’t count on it. No, everyone knew how much he had been weakened. The Exemplar title had provided a real power up, and, as much as he hated to admit it, he had used it as a crutch many, many times.

Fortunately it has given him a significant advantage which still stood him in good stead. While it wasn’t like just smushing simple Trashbugs anymore, and each uprising had still been suppressed with only minimal effort, it was the sheer indignity of it all. Arkash hated it. It had made him look weak. Ineffective. And the cut and thrust of Sarnaki politiks was brutal and unforgiving.

No, Arkash was having a bad year even. This was just the crowning jewel. And it needed to change. And he was resolved. No task too dirty. No deed too low. He would reclaim his Title. He would bury this [Tad Blank].

He snorted, what a stupid name.

A ‘little empty’. A ‘small void’. A ‘crumb of nothing’. Neither he nor any of his advisors could discern much at all about his opponent. No self respecting being would accept such a pitiful moniker.

But the System was being very opaque. None of the usual portents or oracles could provide much guidance on where to start looking for these Humans. The Humanese polity might as well have been invisible for the amount of impact it has had on the wider System.

“Your Radiance” an underling scuttled in as the double doors of his throne room opened. “News from the Ocultutory. They have uncovered the Human Dominion!”

“Ahahhh! Excellent news indeed. I feel my luck is turning. Well? Tell me more minion! What news?”

“The Humans are but the latest of Species to join the System. It appears they have only been uplifted from the Dust 1200 or so years back!”

Arkash threw his battle arms up in amazement. They were mere babies. He had been robbed by a cradle. This was incredibly embarrassing.

“Suppress this information at once. Anyone passing on this obviously erroneous data is to be emasculated, debrachiated and have hot coals placed in all their body cavities immediately.”

The underling gulped convulsively; “As you command, it shall be done.”

Well. Arkash considered. That would explain the obtuseness of the System. No wonder he had suffered a rebuke. This was bad. He reclined back on his thronebed.

“Send for my policy advisors. What client races do we have in the Bronze Tier?” He would have to act through intermediaries. Arrggghhh. The gall of it. He had so wanted the pleasure himself of ripping out the battle arms of his foe. To stare him in the eye as he reclaimed what was rightfully his. Ahh. Well. No matter. He would get the Title back once this ‘Smidgen of Befuddlement’ was dead. And no doubt there would be plenty of gossiping misinformation going on. Arkash cheered up. He could practice his debrachiation on them. Yes. He was making progress. This was excellent.

MERCY TAIT, THE AZURE POTENTATE

And Mercy was having a bad day. A bad week even. It had started off so well as well. Her son had surfaced. She had always known He was alive. Others had laughed and sneered and called her obsessed, and she was. She knew that. And it was fine. Obsessions were character forming. And look what having an obsession had achieved. At least Aaron had always believed in her. Mercy shook her head, she was so much luckier than she had any right to be. Where would she be if not for him?

She sighed, pulling her thoughts back from the past. No, if you want anything done, done right, that is, you need to do it yourself.

Iveighsee had done the best she could of course. It was hardly her fault that she was so green. Everyone has to start somewhere. And she had made some progress. She had her son’s associate in hand. His team leader. Now she was coming to rendezvous on Level 5.

Little did little Ivy know, but Mercy had already bypassed Level 5. She had shucked the trappings of her Office and donned her old working clothes. It was liberating really. And the dangers; refreshing. The System restricted high level beings from descending and running amok. It was against the principles of Ascension. It was fine to ascend and wreak havoc. In fact that was one of the paths to greatness. But descending? No, that was anathema. It was one of the big disadvantages of ascending to Gold Tier. And of course, you didn’t discover that fact until it was too late. Curséd fishhooks and smarmy lawyering fineprint.

There were only two ways a high level participant could descend. No, Mercy corrected herself, there were three. You could obtain either a tourist pass or a trader pass. But both restricted you severely. And while you could visit, you could not influence or really interact with the Level. You were reduced to just a piece of the environment. Like a gimped NPC. But it worked both ways really. You were protected from attacks and you were prevented from attacking. It was, in her considered opinion, a complete waste of space. Who cared for profits so much that they would waste their lives in such a dreary way? Or for travel experience without risk? Phttzzz. People who didn’t know how to live. That’s who.

But there was a third way. That of an [Adventurer Tourist]. And it was a thrill. Why, she wondered, hadn’t she done this before?

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And now she couldn’t find this Sledgrick. It was infuriating. What on earth was Iveighsee thinking? Setting a valuable minion loose like that. There had been decades invested in him. And by all accounts he was a most effective enforcer. In fact he had one of the best records for collection out of the entire Organisation. No, she would find Sledgrick and bring him back into the fold.

And while she was here, she would do a bit of exploring herself. See if she still had it. Yes, Mercy decided. This was going to be a profitable exercise. And she was getting closer and closer to her Son.

She had seen that System wide announcement. In fact she suspected that every D grade and above had been notified. A new Exemplar had been found. A human. And the accolade had done wonders for our position with Humanity’s neighbours. And the name! The name had sent shivers down her spine. It resonated with what Ivy recalled of the nameless low level companion that Sledgrick had disposed of.

Mercy chuckled. Ivy had been so nervous. It was amusing really. Did she think that she would be punished for failing to direct her minion adequately? Did she think that her own Grandmother would punish her for this slight mishap. Mercy’s smile hardened. Of course, if she hadn’t been family, blood would have flown. Flown freely in fact. You didn’t get anywhere by being soft. No, softness was fatal. That was a very early lesson she had learnt. And it was a very hard lesson to teach. Iveighsee would need some special attention. It would not do for her to learn the wrong lesson here. No, it would not.

And here was that flower seller Ivy had mentioned. Hmmm, for some reason he had relocated from outside the Library. Now to find out why.

“Good afternoon miss,” he greeted Mercy with a smile. “A blossom to brighten your day? Everything seems so much brighter and lighter with a flower to take your mind off your woes.” Mercy could feel him gently interrogating her Status, no doubt trying to decide how hard to push a sale. She knew what he would see. Level 5. No special class. Slightly high for this initial level and probably quite affluent too, judging from the quality of her gear. He had no idea.

“Yes. That sounds lovely.” Mercy smiled back. For some reason he stopped smiling. What had she done wrong? This is how one smiled. She had practised just before. Purse your mouth, show your teeth just so, crinkle your eyes. And eyes were important. They were often a give away. Mercy had lost count of the number of times people’s eyes had betrayed them. She almost frowned. What had she done wrong? Had she got the eyes wrong? This was concerning.

“How much for this bunch here?” she queried, wondering how best to raise Sledgrick. After all, what would she want with a large brute like him?

“J..j..just 4 silver my lady.” He actually stuttered. This was bad. How on earth had she lost her touch so badly.

Oh well. Split milk and all that.

As she paid him, she slipped him a gold, dropped the false smile and smiled her real smile. “I am looking for a large, somewhat dishevelled gentleman. He doesn’t speak that much or very well and has a somewhat menacing demeanour. Do you happen to know when I could find him?”

If he was somewhat disconcerted before, now he was absolutely pallid. You would think he was one step in the grave. Yes, Sledgrick had definitely happened to him.

“Y..y..yes,” He looked just about ready to faint. Mercy [Inspected] him. Level 14. Why on earth he was still selling flowers down here she could not fathom. Surely prices must be much better up on Level 3 or 4. She frowned. The poor man sat down. He really should put more points into his Spirit. This was almost embarrassing. She only had the Stats of a Level 5 for System’s sake.

“H..h..he has taken to the alley next to the Library.” He straightened himself slightly. “It was bad for business. His busking intimidated just about everyone and then they didn’t have any change left over for me to tempt them into buying a flower or two.” With a pause, as he recollected himself. “There is something not quite right with him. I have never felt so scared in my life.” This was said with a bit of side eye at her.

See? Eyes again. She smiled back at him. “Thank you my good sir. You have been most helpful.” She curtsied, and taking her bunch of flowers, continued on her way, a fresh spring in her step.

Why, she was almost skipping. How refreshing.

Today was looking up after all.

THE SUPREME COUNCIL, HUMAN POLITY

Grant was having a bad day. It was like herding sabersquirrels. You would think that grown dignified adults could conduct themselves with a bit more dignity.

This latest System announcement had thrown everything into a spin. Each faction was frantically trying to determine who was responsible and where this ‘Exemplar’ was to be found and what benefits such a Title would bestow.

“Order!” He thumped his stupid little hammer thingy. “Order! I will have order or I will start ejecting people.” His voice rose precipitously. Arrgghhh! He absolutely hated that. It sounded just so undignified.

The ruckus in the House gradually settled, as members retook their seats.

“We are gathered to address the recent Accolade the system has bestowed and the ramifications of our Species.” He looked around. “Would House Kincaid care to address the Chamber?”

A dignified gentlewoman rose to her feet. She was early Gold. Not someone to be trifled with. “We are concerned that this is a fundamental shift in Human power. Both internally and with our neighbours.” She paused looking around the room. “House Kincaid has no contact with this ‘Tad Blank’. I move that the Council make specific enquiry, beginning here, as to whether this, this individual, is located within one of our Houses.” She retook her seat.

“Seconded.” That was the Blairs. That figures, those two houses were as thick as thieves.

“A call has been made. Those in favour of an enquiry shall say aye.” A chorus of ayes filled the room. “Those against no.” Frank paused as the room remained silent. “The ayes have it.” He took a breath. “Each house shall now rise and declare knowledge, if any or otherwise.”

He settled back down in his chair as House after House stated their position. Just how many words did it take to say you were ignorant while trying not to appear the same? It was tedious. And this whole exercise was largely pointless. There was nothing stopping a House from concealing the individual if they so wished. Yet judging from the almost frantic clamour there was widespread ignorance and concern.

The Human Polity had jumped from low Bronze to peak Silver just on the actions of this singular individual. This was already having ramifications. The Gnomes were opening up a little more. As a Silver race, Humanity was no longer so far beneath them. This probably boded well for trade. But the Minotaurs were pissed. Humanity had leap frogged them. They were only mid Silver, and previously had been quite imperious, looking down on Humanity’s poor efforts. This reversal had not been well received and several trade delegations had been recalled abruptly. There was a distinct chance of conflict in the very near future and humans were nowhere near ready for such an escalation.

He was pulled back from his musings with a start. It appeared that everyone had finished decrying their knowledge.

“Moving on then Members,” he considered the agenda. “The depredations of the Azure Potentate. There are several Houses here who have been impacted. Who will rise to speak?”